He's a Pirate
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: All he ever wanted, was to be a pirate. To be respected and feared by others. But how can you have a decent life when you're surrounded by pirates? This is a pirates' tale, with a slightly ironic, and well deserved twist. NarutoxSakura Rogue galaxy x-over
1. Setting Out

**Warning: If you dudes and dudette's haven't played Rogue Galaxy, you will be confused. And please review!**

He silently lay the flowers on the grave, kneeling down to brush some dirt from the gravestone, doing his best to clean up the clutter, organize and straighten, the many bouquets and flowers that littered the base of the large stone casket.

Tears leaked from his face, but he did not sob, he made no effort to halt their passage, he just set down his blade upon the grave, briefly, as if in a final sendoff, and it shone once in response, as he pulled it away, and buckled closed the strap that held it to his back.

"I did it. I'm finally going into space, just like I promised. It took me awhile to find the parts, but now, I've finally got a ship of my own, but damn, I really wish you could see it, old man."

A breeze, uncustomary for the cavern in which the cemetery was housed, blew past him, tickling his nose, and blowing through his hair. He closed his eyes, released out a small, pent up sigh, as if he heard his name whispered on the wind.

"And guess what? I'll find a crew, the BEST crew, and I'll be the best. The very best, and no one's gonna stop me! I'm gonna be the greatest pirate there ever was! Even greater than Dorgengoa!

He remembered the wicked laughter that had echoed through the house, just after he got there, and he remembered the sight of the man, tall and black, dark and shrouded, as he emerged from the shadows of their house, freezing both him and Kisala with fear.

But he would NEVER forget that blade, that saber of pure light, nor the face of that man, who put two slugs in his chest and left him for dead ashe marched out of the bloodied apartment.

"I'll make you proud, gramps. I'll find that teme-

His greasy hands, as he had come here directly after finishing the ship, clenched into fists, until they drew blood, and now his face twisted with rage.

"And I'll kick his ass, with my own bare hands!"

Again the breeze blew by him, but this time, softer, and as he turned away, if he had listened, he would have, he might have, heard one word, a silent blessing from the old generation to the next, from beyond the grave.

But so wrapped was he in excitement, that he did not hear it.

The gravestone read:

_Here lies Sarutobi Hiruzen, proud father, warrior, and the greatest pirate to ever sail the sea of stars._

_He will be missed._

_R.I.P._

_--_

Blood.

Blood sweat and tears, that was what he had put into this ship, the one that would finally get him off this godforsaken rock.

Whiping oil off his brow, the teen smiled wearily on the memory as the last of the clones poofed out of existence, their work, which had consisted of a lucky gamble, then months of hard work, both physical and mental labor, done at last.

Before him, tied to the spacedock by many ropes and wires, was a massive ship, too massive to even begin to describe, but it was reminiscent of a pirate ship, back in the days when ships sailed in the water, not the skys.

But that was then and this was now, a new age, that he was still getting used to.

"Oh! You finally finished it, Naruto!" Turning in the direction of the speaker, Naruto grinned as a tall, lanky man in coveralls and a black tee, strode into view, wearing an amused smile at the sigh of the massive behemoth before him.

"Yup, sure did-

His eyes suddenly narrowed. "Oi, Iruka, what did I tell you?"

Sighing, scratching the back of his head, Iruka paused, an exhausted grin tugging at his lips as he observed the irritation simmering across the blonde's visage. It was always like this between, just like brothers, even though they technically weren't related by blood

Finally, he shrugged. "What do you call yourself now?"

Naruto facefaulted, before leaping up, his eyes flashing angrily. He'd told Iruka time and time again, over and over but no matter his very best efforts, the man who'd treated him like a little brother, he didn't seem to recall his 'brother's' title.

"Iruka-sensei! I already told you! Its Captain! Captain Naruto Uzumaki from now on!"

"Sorry, sorry, must've slipped my mind."

"It did not! You were smiling just now!'

Laughing, Iruka feigned a brief bow, before a giggling girl, around fourteen, her strawberry blond hair bound into two ponytails behind her back, slipped past him. She bounded up to them now, her dark eyes glinting mischeviously, her usual outfit gone replaced by a different attire consiting of a small shirt, and long white slacks.

"So what's our first destination then, _Captain _Naruto?"

"Oi, Moegi."

He glanced to the right as a spry youth of fifteen slammed the aft hatch on the underside of the ship, indicating that he'd just finished the haphazard patch job necessary to keep the engine in one piece.

"Yeah boss, we're we going in this thing anwyways?"

"Well, Konohamaru...

Naruto looked up into the starry sky, and grinned, patting the giant black serated sword strung to his back. Eventually, his gaze fell upon the lettering alonside the ship, christened: _The Konoha, _gleamed in dark red, its engines purring softly. She didn't look like much, but then again, that was the beauty of it all.

Three kids manning a vessel this big?

Iruka shook his head once more.

This was a surefire recipe for disaster. Granted, he didn't know shit about how to pilot a space freighter, but he'd be damned if these chibi's left him on this rock, and he'd be double damned if something were to happen to them if he didn't tag along.

"Beats me." He grinned at last, rubbing the grease off on his coveralls, clapping his hands as he walked off the deck, and was promptly handed a glass of water, as were Konohamura, and Moegi. "Wherever the hell we want, I guess."

Naruto raised his cup and clanked it against everyone's, a wild grin twisting his smile upwards, exposing the fine points of his teeth. He coughed into his fist, gave a hearty belch before one last declaration passed his lips, in a loud bellow.

"Tomorrow mates, we set sail! Full speed ahead wherever the hell we want, to find us a crew!"

Konhomaru and Moegi clanked their mugs against his own.

"AYE-AYE!"

Iruka shook his head for a moment, then raised his glass as well.

"Aye, cap'n."

**If you're wondering what the devil I'm up to this time, regarding two _entirely_ different characters, well, you'll just have to wait and see. Besides, I Always wanted to do something like this, so Read, review, and rejoice in the epicness of this story!**

**Well, I suppose you can guess what genre this falls under, neh? Well, enjoy as best you can, and try to decipher the method to this author's madness. Prologue or epilogue? Nyahaha!**


	2. Starr Sky

**As mentioned before, the Naruto cast, just about all of them, will be making an appearance in this fic. Which brings me to this humble request. I am in desperate need of a co-writer for this story! If any of you guys and gals out there have any knowledge of Rogue galaxy like I do, and wanna help continue the epicness, them Pm me to lend your aid!**

**Nz out!**

**Starry Sky**

That morning, or rather, night, for it was always night on this side of Vedan, a bright streak of red burst into the sky. Such a sight was not unusual for the resident's of Myna, but what caught there eye was that this particular streak of light was trailing thick black smoke behind it.

Moments later, it vanished from sight entirely.

With a dull thud, _The Konoha _remerged from the Jump, rattling harshly and all but tossing the crew from their positions as its durasteel frame nearly suffered an overheat by moving at such speeds. Eager to be off, they'd made a random jump immediately after clearing the planet's atmosphere.

And as a result, arrived at a random destination.

"K-Kami, that took a lot out of me...

With fumbling fingers Moegi pulled herself back up upon the helm, which her fingers had broken and bled over to craft. Thankfully the wheel, like the rest of the cruiser, was relatively unharmed.

"Everybody alright?"

"Ow." Came the chorus of voices as Naruto and Konohamarau all but peeled themselves off the floor. Iruka, as usual, was nowhere to be seen, their exhausted caretaker having shown himself to the bunk as soon as they'd gotten the supplies on board.

"So...this is it, huh?" Naruto crossed the deck with a starry look in his eyes as the nothingness of space stretched out before them. There were so many stars, so many planets, looming off in the distance, who knew what lay in wait for them?

Alarms suddenly went off, and Konohamaru suddenly swallowed nervously.

"This is bad! We're caught in Juraika's gravity field!"

Sure enough, the ship had begun its tremulous descent into the planet's humid atmosphere.

"Then throttle the engines and get us out of it." Iruka replied simply, as he emerged from his bunk, holding a cup of coffee. "That shouldn't be too hard, right?" True, that might've been the case but the way Konohamaru was fidgeting made Naruto rise from his seat to see just what had happened.

Moegi turned to ask Iruka just what was wrong, but before he could answer, Naruto's frustrated snarl beat him to the punch. "What?! Whaddya mean you didn't fuel the ship?!" That being said, he viciously bashed poor Konhamaru over the head seconds later, his face twisted into a scowl.

"Sorry boss, I musta forgot!"

Naruto hit him over the head again.

"If we die, you won't have to remember!"

Iruka groaned.

"Idiots...

At that moment, Moegi made a coughing sound, drawing attention to herself.

"Um...excuse me guys, but there's something I think you should all know...

"Great, now what?" Quipped Iruka, secretly dreading bad news, as Naruto tried to strangle Konhomaru. With their current streak, the engines had probably blown up or something.

As anticipated, bad new was exactly what they received, as they wheel sharply yanked itself from Moegi's hands, making her point abundantly clear, as they were all thrown sharply to one side.

"This ship has gone completely out of control!"

From there on, the rest of it was a blur, as they descended to Juraika, in a fiery streak of metal and timber. Left with no other course of action, everyone grabbed onto the first solid, bolted down object they could find.

Moegigave the helm one last, desperate tug, and the ship inched up slightly, only to jerk sharply downward again as gravity wrested the controls from her hand once more. Still, the forest rushed up to meet them at a sickening pace, permitting them the briefest glimpse of a village hidden in the trees, then nothing as their vessel skipped over a lake, where the unforgiving shoreline awaited..

Naruto closed his eyes and braced himself.

"HANG ON!"

--

She was tired.

Correction, she was tired of the village _men_.

They didn't interest her, none of them, not a single one, not even the chief.

Sure, some of them were skilled hunters, they had to be, otherwise they would turn up dead in the morning.

But there was no man her equal, no man she could respect. They really were hopeless fools. Though they would make good husbands, but dull ones, and a dull life was not something she wanted. Some were strong and handsome, but after she had beaten them senseless in combat, they became sniveling little whiners, that weren't good for anything.

They couldn't perform.

Why couldn't they understand? She wanted a life, an adventure! She didn't want to be stuck on this godforsaken planet all her life, wittling away her better years into adulthood!

Suddenly realizing her track of thought, she rolled her eyes, and carried on with her hunting, the one thing that could distract her, from this persistent problem that continued to nag at her.

Lillika, chief of the warriors, had been banished just the other day, even though she'd technically fixed the dark fruit problem. It was relatively common knowledge that she had gone up into space with that Jaster fellow and his crew, who'd shown up prior to the incident.

Shading her eyes against her hair, her pink bangs that insisted to constantly crowd into her eyes, the huntress peered up into the harsh afternoon sun, and the bright, cloudless blue sky.

_'Up in space...maybe....maybe I'll find what I'm looking for up there?_

She gulped, suddenly nervous at the thought. It wasn't that she feared to leave her home, quite the contrary, she was itching for a chance that Lilika had, she'd given anything to leave this predictable life behin. Unfortunately, she was simply scared to death of being up in space, rather in a floating starship like the one she'd only seen last week.

But if she was afraid of space, then how

Abruptly, a loud explosion rocked the forest, sending millions of birds screaming and squawking into the air. Distracted by the sound, she sweved her gaze to the sky and saw..._sails_, sails and smoke on the far off horizon, whereas that spot had been filled with trees mere moments ago.

"What the?!"

The ground quaked once more and all was still, leaving the wildlife to return to its daily routine.

The huntress was immediately tempted to go investigate the cause of the explosive quake, but the red light shining from the ship suggested otherwise, and not giving it a second thought, she turned and headed back towards the village...

Only to halt in midstep.

If they were tourists, they'd be dead soon enough.

And if they were warriors...

_'Maybe they're strong like those other three...strong enough to survive this jungle, anyways.'_

She turned round, eyeing the trail of smoke left behind by the damaged vessel. Curiosity waged war with reason, and eventually won out, leaving her to make her own way towards the _Konoha._

Well then, maybe she _would _have a look after all...

--

Naruto was up first, and once it was determined that everyone else was reasonably unharmed-

WHAM!

"YOU IDIOT!" the captain all but roared, as he smote Konohamaru over the head with the flat end of his sword, which luckily did not hit as hard as he wanted it to, or the poor boy tor would likely be headless now.

"I said I was sorry!! We just didn have a time te gas er up all the way!"

"Oh, you're _gonna _be sorry when I get through with you!"

Konohamaru desperately pleaded his apologies nonstop as Naruto stalked towards him, but upon realizing he couldn't reason with the blond, decided running was a better option and darted to the right hiding behind pieces of furniture, only for the captain to pursue him relentlessly.

"Get back here you maggot! I'm taking the repairs out of your pay and your _hide_!"

Moegi looked from Konohamaru to Naruto, then to Iruka and back again, clearly concerned for the safety of her friend, as the chase progressed, with the poor boy running for his very life, and Naruto right behind him, threatening to rip his hair out for making them crash land.

"Aren't you going to do something?"

Iruka shook his head, and turned off to one side.

"Nope. Not my problem. The kid forgot to fill up the tank, so he should pay for it." That left it to Moegi, who knew how to handle these occasional outbursts, that would occur from time to time, much like they had with in the past.

Naruto, being sixteen was a little older than Konohamaru and she, but more often then not, he acted half his age and was loath to stand by when something blew up in his face like this. Iruka on the other hand, had given up trying to break up these quarrels long ago.

Shooting a glare at the hunter, Moegi gave a small sigh, hoisting herself up into a standing position once more.

"Fine. I'll take care of this myself...

--

Naruto had finally pinned Konohamaru against the bulkhead, yet just before he could commence with the torture, Moegi suddenly seized him from behind, making him go stiff as a board, as she roughly slammed _him _against the wall, with surprising strength for someone of her build.

And if that wasn't bad enough, the sly little wench now had his wrists cuffed behind his back in an electromagnetic lock, though he still had no idea where those cuffs had come from. With smoldering fury, captain refused to meet Moegi's stare, then again he couldn't do that either.

"Lemme go!"

"Nuh-uh. Not till you promise not to hurt Konohamaru-kun."

Naruto felt his face twist around a snarl, and he bit his lip against it. Why on earth should he not bash the kid's head in? He'd nearly gotten them all killed, and why? All because he'd forgotten to fill the friggin' ship up on gasoline!

He had half a mind to toss the little twerp out the aft window!

"Fine."

"Good." She chirped, before looking to her trembling friend.

"Kay! You can get up! He's all better now!"

Seconds later, the cuffs dropped from his hands, and the blond growled at Konohamaru, who had unwisely stepped back and away from Moegi.

"Teme!"

"Gah!" The boy yelped as the blond clocked him one last time, leaving a painful selling welt that poked out from his hair. Shooting the youth one last glare, Naruto finally stepped down to the deck, and surveyed the damage.

It wasn't good. The weel was ripped from its hinges and flung halfway across the room, the windows, every last one of them, had been shattered upon impact, and already, the sickening stench of electrical fires reached his nose.

Moegi flinched as her fingers flew over one of the few active screens. Immediately, a ship diagnostic was brought up, flashing an ugly bright red, as opposed to a calm blue. A few taps of her fingers on the screen confirmed it.

They'd be here for awhile.

Iruka looked over her shoulder, and peered at the damage.

"Hmm...That's not very good, is it?"

"Tell me about it. We're outta booster oil." Whined Moegi, as all the sections of the ship were yellow on the boards, but one, the _engine _was in the black. "Now what're we gonna do?"

"Well then, can't we just get some from here?" Konohamaru unwisely piped up, and after a withering glare from Naruto, he winced, before the blonde's eyes widened with realization.

Iruka arched an eyebrow.

"That's right. Booster oil is made from the fire fruit-

-Collected here on Juraika!" Finished Moegi, pumping one fist into the air. "Who knows, we might be able to find some and get this ship up and running by tonight again!"

Crossing his arms, Naruto nodded to himself.

"That just might work...

Clapping his hands together, he suddenly made a declaration:

"It's decided then! Konohamaru, you stay here to make repairs-

"WHAT?! Why me?!"

"Because you're the one who made us crash!" and I'll go get some-

Moegi shook her head immediately.

"No way! I'm coming too!"

Now she _was _glared at, but unlike Konohamaru, his piercing blue eyes didn't even faze the ever enthusiastic youth.

"Hey, wait a second, who said you could come?"

"Well," Iruka shrugged to himself and came up behind them, draping an arm across his two charges, met with a wide grin from Moegi, and a scowling frown from Naruto. "If you're going, then count me in. I never was paritcularly good with spaceship repairs anyways.

Naruto groaned and looked at the duo pleadingly.

"Gah, do you guys really want to come that badly?"

Moegi gave a firm nod, and there was fire in her eyes.

"Unless you plan on stopping us."

He rolled his own eyes backwards, recognizing the futilelity of doing so.

"Like you'd listen."

With a sigh, he stepped toward the hatch, and was surprised to find that it still functioned properly.

"Oi, make sure you don't slack off, Konohamaru."

--

Humid.

That was the first thing Naruto noticed, as he stepped out onto the deck.

The sounds of the jungle greeted them, and almost immediately, he felt a pair of eyes on him.

They were being watched, weren't they?

Yet he ignored the sensation, and stepped towards the landing pedestal, with Iruka and Moegi in tow, and only once they had landed, did he decided to speak to the unseen entity spying on them.

"Whoever's there-

He drew his sword, and the blade gleamed in the sunlight, while he stared into the dense forest that awaited them. He couldn't shake the feeling that someone _was_ watching them, and quite frankly, he didn't like it.

"Come out."

--

From her hidden place in the foliage, the hunter felt it. Despite her best efforts, she'd been spotted by these...these foreigners! Her jaw slackened slightly, before she tensed up again in defiance.

Three of them, a boy, a girl, and a man.

The girl next to the boy on the left seemed clueless and ditsy, and the other, the man to the right, he looked like an old drunkard, well past his prime, outdated, and ancient, even though he looked to be only about thirty.

But the one in the middle, _he _was different, both in style and dress, as with the way he surveyed the jungle with an ever curious stare.

So _very _different.

He radiated power, in both the way he dressed, and held himself. But it was not quite that of a hunter, not that ruthless killing intent possessed by a trained assassin, or this skilled in the way of killing either. No was this...naivete?

He stood slightly ahead of the other two, and it was soon made clear that he was the leader, as the man exchanged words with him, and he nodded, shrugging with barely contained frustration.

Though she couldn't see his eyes, as they were partially hidden behind the hair on his face, she could feel that he was no tourist, and the piece of metal upon his arm was a marker of sorts, a symbol of leadership perhaps?

Her eyes widened as the realization smote her, and one word escaped her lips.

"Pirate...

He suddenly stiffened, whirling around, as if he'd heard her. She saw them then, his eyes, those deep blue eyes that held curiosity, anger, and sadness in their moist surface, a gaze which now seemingly pierced through the foliage, staring right at her, burning into her soul with fiery intensity.

He drew a wickedly sharp blade from his back, and spoke, just two words, but is was clear that he meant business.

"Hey, I said come out!"

There was no way he could see her, she told herself, but then why was he looking right at her? A shiver ran through her body, as her eyes ran over his form, which rippled with muscle, under the armor he wore.

He exuded strength, not just of the body, but of the mind as well, and a keen intellect was seen in those eyes. Was this dumb look just an act, or was he deliberately trying to draw her out

Instinctively, a hand strayed to her bow, and another drew an arrow from her quiver, setting it straight across the string without even a whisper of sound. Not even the creatures that roamed the forest had sensed her prescence, there was no way _he_ could have heard-

"I hear something. You gonna attack us or what? Look, we just came her to-

Yet she stifled a gasp, as he raised his blade, just an inch, _barely_, but now, he would be able to deflect the arrow she was about to fire. Fear, then understanding reflected in her eyes, as she felt his eyes fixate with her sea foam green. There was no way, she told herself, no possible way he could see her, or be aware of her prescence.

"Oi!" With a loud shout, he brought all hopes of stealth crashing down around him. "This is your last warning, whoever you are. Either you come out now-

She was a strong girl.

She had hunted beasts large and small for years, stalking silently and attacking swiftly, ever since she could walk. Her aim was true, she never missed, both in judging her opponent, and the swift deadly silent death of her arrows.

Next to Lillika, who was no longer here, _she _was the best hunter on Juraika.

-Or I'm coming in after you!"

His eyes were suddenly a fierce slitted red under his rough blond hair. He was looking

_Was and still am, _she told herself,. That was the key word here, as this man, who was clearly both a hunter _and _a pirate, as none other could hold himself like that, whilst fierce beast roamed about, and not show fear.

He was odd, just like those other pirates

Silently, she lowered her arrow, slid the deadly missile back into her quiver, and strapped her bow to her back, rising to her feet as she did so. If this one was anything like the other's, then she wanted to bring him onto her turf, then see if his skills were really up to par with his looks

And so she ran, sprinting back into the forest, not fast enough to outrun him, but just enough to warrant his attention. To be sur, she kept looking, kept glancing over her shoulder, to see if he would pursue her, like a true hunter would his prey...

One pair of footsteps sounded after her, and she knew she had been correct in her assumption...

--

The sound of footsteps, fading away, as whoever it was ran off, eliciting a swear from Naruto. They knew they'd been spotted, after all, that had been his intention from the very beginning, but he'd just wanted to talk, damnit!

"H-Hey! Come back!" He pleaded as the footfalls grew fainter. "We just wanted to talk!"

An arrow rushed past his face, slitting his cheek as it landed with an audible thump in the nearby tree trunk.

"I said come back damnit!"

"Naruto, wait!"

Too late, forthe hyperactive captain, he was gone, in a blur of black and orange, dashing into the jungle, in pursuit of those green eyes he had seen before. It shouldn't be too hard to catch up to them, or so he hoped, as Iruka's warning faded from his ears, replaced by the myriad of sound that was the Juraikan jungle.

Severl yards ahead, the huntress smirked.

The hunt was on.

**_Next time: Sakura_**


End file.
